A Story of Patient X, Nervous Tics and the Polyvagal Theory

Do you want to know about a case study that changed my life as a practitioner?

This Patient's story fully converted me into the unicorn that I am in the Alternative Medicine Circle- the practitioner that works with ancient Vedic teachings AND modern biohacking.

What a combination, indeed!

Don't get me wrong. Ayurveda is the most potent foundation of well-being I have ever found. Perhaps soon, I will write another post about all the reasons why I integrate alternative healing approaches (besides the story of Patient X, of course).

But for now, let me focus on a spectacular healing tool I have encountered that is all too recent in its invention.

Several modern-day scientists and health pioneers deserve our time of day as they push new ideas, outlooks, and bio "hacks", and their work has a tremendous impact. Bessel van der Kolk, Weston Price, and Jessie Inchauspe are some I talk about a lot (I'm definitely not just into ancient Rishis).

Today, I want to tell you about Dr. Stephen Porges, a psychiatry professor and polyvagal theory creator, his work, and how it changed the life of my Patient X.

The Vagus Nerve is the biggest and the longest nerve in the body, and its stimulation might be one of the more effective ways to influence ("hack") the brain.

Anatomically speaking, this nerve runs from the brain, through the bottom of the ear, down the neck, and all the way through the gut. Dr Porges discovered that it controls the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic reactions, which in plain language means your body's stress versus relaxation ability. When we feel in danger, this system kicks in to protect us by activating the commonly known fight/flight or freeze responses.

The Vagus nerve is why your bowels tie themselves into a knot when you are stressed. Its malfunctioning can cause jaw pain and a host of other neurological symptoms. Sometimes, our bodies are stressed for prolonged periods, or the autonomic nervous system injury is too significant for the body to go back to optimally regulating itself (trauma). When the body spends too much time in the sympathetic response, and not enough in the parasympathetic mode (rest and digest), we can experience difficulties with breathing, sleep, mental clarity, digestion, concentration and social connection.

My Patient X was someone whose treatment I have overseen for a long while in conjunction with other specialists. Symptoms included periodic but severe nervous tics and periodic digestive problems. The Patient was pitta/vata and had a significant tendency to pitta/vata imbalance as well.

Two neurologists worked on this case to absolutely no avail. A brilliant biochemist was also consulted at one point, and through a series of diagnostic tests, brain inflammation was confirmed, but the suggested protocols brought only minimal results.

I have tried the Ayurvedic approach and even consulted my Ayurvedic mentor, a doctor, as the results were still far from satisfactory. At the very least, the Ayurvedic intervention brilliantly managed all of the Patient's digestive complaints. However, the nervous tics were still present, severely inhibiting the Patient's social life. Sometimes, the nidana (causative factor) cannot be eliminated, as it was in this case and discovering a pacifying treatment would have been more than agreeable to the Patient.

At this point, Dr. Porges enters the stage again.

My good friend Anna so happens to be a therapist and was just investigating a new tool for her professional toolbox, at the time- SSP, or the Safe and Sound Protocol, created by Dr. Porges. She was seeing significant results in her practice, and I recommended the treatment to Patient X as something worth a try.

The Safe and Sound Protocol is a powerful and innovative listening therapy- music specially filtered to highlight frequencies of sounds that typically make the brain feel safe and help regulate the autonomic nervous system. All you have to do is listen to the tracks on the type of headphones that go over your ears. It is suitable for people of all ages and backed by decades of research. It helps people looking for support with healing their trauma, depression, anxiety, autism, hyperactivity and attention disorders, chronic pain, chronic health conditions, and more.

This treatment alone brought my Patient X the most considerable relief. It took a while for the Patient to figure out the best way to use it, which ended up being a bit different from what is commonly recommended. However, providing the Patient repeats the SSP therapy regularly, a full resolution of symptoms is achieved, usually two weeks after finishing SSP, and maintained until the next round of the protocol.

I know what some of you might say- this is not a cure but another bandaid. True. But tell that to a patient who has experienced several nervous tics and social repercussions with no relief from any other form of treatment. This therapy is entirely side-effect-free and convenient.

This is not an AD, and I do not receive any commission for recommending this resource. There is no affiliation, no discount code you can claim with my name. I use it myself, and my family does, too. We each have very different results, from significant to nil, and this is consistent with the state of our Vagus nerve tone.

If you would like to learn more about SSP, go to https://integratedlistening.com/products/ssp-safe-sound-protocol/

For clinical information and resources, visit https://integratedlistening.com/products/ssp-safe-sound-protocol/clinical-resources/ 

To check out my SSP provider and a friend's website, go to https://bolanowska.com/ 

Would you like to learn more about the nervous system regulating activities that support awareness and resilience?

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